| 2:1 | I'm just a wildflower picked from the plains of Sharon, a lotus blossom from the valley pools. |
| 2:2 | A lotus blossoming in a swamp of weeds--that's my dear friend among the girls in the village. |
| 2:3 | As an apricot tree stands out in the forest, my lover stands above the young men in town. All I want is to sit in his shade, to taste and savor his delicious love. |
| 2:4 | He took me home with him for a festive meal, but his eyes feasted on [me]! |
| 2:5 | Oh! Give me something refreshing to eat--and quickly! Apricots, raisins--anything. I'm about to faint with love! |
| 2:6 | His left hand cradles my head, and his right arm encircles my waist! |
| 2:7 | Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem, by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer: Don't excite love, don't stir it up, until the time is ripe--and you're ready. |
| 2:8 | Look! Listen! There's my lover! Do you see him coming? Vaulting the mountains, leaping the hills. |
| 2:9 | My lover is like a gazelle, graceful; like a young stag, virile. Look at him there, on tiptoe at the gate, all ears, all eyes--ready! |
| 2:10 | My lover has arrived and he's speaking to me! Get up, my dear friend, fair and beautiful lover--come to me! |
| 2:11 | Look around you: Winter is over; the winter rains are over, gone! |
| 2:12 | Spring flowers are in blossom all over. The whole world's a choir--and singing! Spring warblers are filling the forest with sweet arpeggios. |
| 2:13 | Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed, and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms. Oh, get up, dear friend, my fair and beautiful lover--come to me! |
| 2:14 | Come, my shy and modest dove--leave your seclusion, come out in the open. Let me see your face, let me hear your voice. For your voice is soothing and your face is ravishing. |
| 2:15 | Then you must protect me from the foxes, foxes on the prowl, Foxes who would like nothing better than to get into our flowering garden. |
| 2:16 | My lover is mine, and I am his. Nightly he strolls in our garden, Delighting in the flowers |
| 2:17 | until dawn breathes its light and night slips away. Turn to me, dear lover. Come like a gazelle. Leap like a wild stag on delectable mountains! |
Song of Solomon 2 - The Message Bible
